Just Browsing load balancing for caravans
- Thread starter Sturah
- Start date
I saw this on YouTube and found it quite interesting. That's why I have weighed everything in the caravan and created a spreadsheet which automatically calculates the weight in the front, middle and rear of the caravan. It helps me adjust the weights depending on what we take and where we go. It also helps calculate total payload.It worries me when I see, what appears to be overloaded and poorly balanced caravans on the road.
Cheers
Nick
Cheers
Nick
That would be interesting I imagine it would be very similar although not quite as violent.
But?????????
That's the sure way to get it right. Do you have the weight of everything you put in the van?
The whole idea for me going to an expanda was to b able to cut as much crap out as possible.no i havnt weighed everything cups plates etc have a fair idea though my food storage above axle cloths storage half way over rear axle dont carry extra gas etc .chairs in front fiamma bike rack on front dont get me wrong great viewing and agree 100 percent a lot more people need to take notice of this publication
I am afraid to say it, but yes I weighed everything. I even weighed the mods I put into the caravan to get it as accurate as possible. Reading posts about caravans being overweight and unbalanced made me a bit worried so I thought I would do things right from the start when we picked up our caravan. It's very easy to get carried away and fill every cupboard with stuff you don't really need or use and it takes the guess work out of balancing the weight of the caravan at the front middle and rear.
Cheers
Nick
A very good practical demo, can see why the set up is called a Pig Trailer................but loading not so much weight is the main problem and the tow rig is often forgotten.
Be great to see other set ups with that display, a Mythbusters type.
@Dean Anderson posted it as well last Oct, pity I missed it then.
Be great to see other set ups with that display, a Mythbusters type.
@Dean Anderson posted it as well last Oct, pity I missed it then.
Last edited:
If you look at our 22.68.. Most of my added weight is easily put in front of axles by design. I have been told by a few people best to load more to the front then the rear. Although is that correct?
Front of the Axles is two water tanks, two gas bottles, tunnel boat, under bed storage inc Battery, two wardrobes and over head cupboards.
Just in front of axle under dinette is HWS/Pump.
Over both axles kitchen cupboards.
Over rear axle Fridge/Oven
Behind Axles rear water tank, then at the rear kids wardrobe, toilet/washing machine.
Front of the Axles is two water tanks, two gas bottles, tunnel boat, under bed storage inc Battery, two wardrobes and over head cupboards.
Just in front of axle under dinette is HWS/Pump.
Over both axles kitchen cupboards.
Over rear axle Fridge/Oven
Behind Axles rear water tank, then at the rear kids wardrobe, toilet/washing machine.
With my swan it was easy I just had enough room so no problem. With this big sucker I have a thing or two to learn as I have not towed something this big, hence searching around for more info and understanding. I'd be interested in looking at your spreadsheet to get a better idea of my weights if possible? Then I'll need the scales
Of course views here are really just what works for one persons van and tug combo, each style of rig requires a slightly differn't set up to get balance, some even need both water tanks full or the whole dynamic is out, while weighing what you put onboard is good to give you an idea of what sort of load you can have, doing it all the time is a bit over the top, in time you should be able to just run your eye over it and know.......also it's not what the scale says thats the final judge it's your eye when looking at the set up and your pukka valve when your driving it down the road, it will tell you exactly when it's bad.
Your Territory will drag the van perfect, hook it up to a 200 series and it can be a dog, so many things come into play....So don't concentrate on just one point, there are many things that need to be done to keep it straight........
Your Territory will drag the van perfect, hook it up to a 200 series and it can be a dog, so many things come into play....So don't concentrate on just one point, there are many things that need to be done to keep it straight........
Once again, I agree with the above.
BUT....making sure you're not overweight for both van and vehicle is a good starting point.
If overweight, it's far more difficult to get into balance and it's easier to do with experience.
We did go to the trouble of noting all weights as we added stuff when we first got this van....mainly because we knew we were a bit marginal with the vehicle we had. All was fine and we were happy because we'd checked it carefully.
Now, having upgraded the vehicle and checked it's total weight and payload, taking into consideration the extras added...bull bar, tow bar, roof racks, gear carried inside and us.....we are absolutely sure we're fine with weight.
As for balance, we just do a tow ball check before a major trip and look at the level. We figure we are experienced enough to know what to pack where.
The time to really check weight, I believe, is before you add all sorts of "stuff" to both vehicle and van on the basis of "if it fits, we may as well shove it in". If that requires a paranoid approach, then so be it. You only need to do , roughly, once. Paranoia can be temporary.
If you have a huge payload margin, you're a rare beast!
Balance comes with trial and error and will vary for all combinations. As long as you're aware of the principles and apply those principles, you should be safe.
Unfortunately, there are many caravans on the road that I consider to be vastly overweight for the conditions and just plain dangerous.
Here endeth my recurrent rant!
Yep, yep, yep @Dobbie I can't agree with the rant bit though, the same views expressed far better than I can manage.............I have had to stop, get out and turn on water pump, get out hose and pumped from rear to front tank on the Ole Tardis ,we got a humungous swing up once and after doing checks , found I had actually been using the front tank instead of rear, tad light up front just a bit too much behind. Had tanks on either side of axle............
Just a question for those with more experience. I have towed trailers on and off ever since having my licence but they have always been lighter and even now with our 14.44-4 it's no heavy weight so its easy. We have a boat single axle and it weights around the same as the van if I go by the plate and add a bit for fuel and loads etc it would be around 1800kg which I think the 14:44 would be near enough the same when it has water and is packed for a trip.
The boat has a very light towball weight (easy enough to lift with one person id guess around 100kg maybe less) Van has higher towball weight, cant remeber off the top of my head but I know its a fair bit more. Both boat and van while they weigh the same they have very different weight distribution (boat has a v6 having off the back) but here is the thing, at both low speeds and highway speeds to me they feel about the same, which is I hardly notice it is there. I drive a 2015 3.2 Auto Ranger its had a few mods done to it and weighs around 2350kg empty, has custom suspension to suit its weight and possible loads (done by ultimate suspension in Ingleburn - just a plug because they were great) and im under in my GVM and GCM etc and I guess both trailers are smallish so maybe thats the reason they both tow easy with my car.
But I want to know what are the signs to look for when driving to make someone feel their van is loaded wrong? Do you get wobbles like in the video? Does it "push" through corners? etc etc .Just want to know what I should be looking for as this is our first caravan so still a little green when it comes down to all things towing.
The boat has a very light towball weight (easy enough to lift with one person id guess around 100kg maybe less) Van has higher towball weight, cant remeber off the top of my head but I know its a fair bit more. Both boat and van while they weigh the same they have very different weight distribution (boat has a v6 having off the back) but here is the thing, at both low speeds and highway speeds to me they feel about the same, which is I hardly notice it is there. I drive a 2015 3.2 Auto Ranger its had a few mods done to it and weighs around 2350kg empty, has custom suspension to suit its weight and possible loads (done by ultimate suspension in Ingleburn - just a plug because they were great) and im under in my GVM and GCM etc and I guess both trailers are smallish so maybe thats the reason they both tow easy with my car.
But I want to know what are the signs to look for when driving to make someone feel their van is loaded wrong? Do you get wobbles like in the video? Does it "push" through corners? etc etc .Just want to know what I should be looking for as this is our first caravan so still a little green when it comes down to all things towing.